Question order is the same as the information in the text. Always

Sentence completion questions also test your ability to find specific details or information in the passage. You must fill in the gaps in the sentences with appropriate words from the passage. The sentences will paraphrase the words and ideas. They also contain details that help you find the part you need to read in detail.


Australia's first commercial wind farm

It's some years since the rotor blades began spinning in Esperance.

A Harvest time in Esperance is constant. As long as the wind blows - which is pretty much all the time - nine identical synchronised wind turbines reap the benefits of the dependable winds that gust up around
the southern coastline of Western Australia. These sleek, white, robot-like wind turbines loom up on the horizon forming part of Australia's first commercial wind farm. They're not only functional machines that help provide electricity for this secluded coastal town, but increasingly, they're also drawcards for curious tourists and scientists alike.


B Because of its isolation, Esperance is not linked to Western Power's grid which supplies electricity from gas-, coal- and oil-fired power stations to the widespread population of Western Australia. Before the wind turbines went in, Esperance's entire electricity needs were met by the diesel power station in town.


C The $5.8 million Ten Mile Lagoon project is not Esperance's first wind farm. The success of a smaller, experimental wind farm, at a spot called Salmon Beach, encouraged the State's power utility to take Esperance wind seriously. Today, the wind turbines at Ten Mile Lagoon work in conjunction with the diesel power station, significantly reducing the amount of the town's electricity generated by expensive diesel power.

D The wind farm is connected to the power station by a 33-kilovolt powerline, and a radio link between the two allows operators to monitor and control each wind turbine. The nine 225-kilowatt Vestas wind turbines produce a total generating capacity of two megawatts and provide around 12 per cent of the energy requirements of Esperance and its surrounding districts.

E The power produced by a wind turbine depends on the size and

efficiency of the machine and, of course, on the energy in the wind. The
energy in the wind available to the wind turbines is proportional to wind
speed cubed. Thus, the greater the wind speed, the greater the output of
the turbine. In order to achieve optimum wind speeds, the right location is imperative. You have to accept the nature of the beast;' Mr Rosser, Western Power's physicist, said. "As surface dwellers our perceptions of wind speeds are bad. As you go higher, wind speed increases significantly.

F The most favourable wind sites are on gently sloping hills, away from obstructions like trees and buildings and where the prevailing winds are not blocked. Computer modelling was used to select the optimum site for Esperance's wind farm. Scientists were concerned not only with efficiency, but also with protecting the coastal health environment which is rich in plant life and home to tiny pygmy and honey-possums, and a host of bird species. In addition, the wind farm is adjacent to Esperance's popular scenic tourist drive.

G Strict erosion controls have been implemented and access to the wind farm is limited to selected viewing areas. The wind turbine towers are painted white and devoid of corporate logos or signage. According to Mr Rosser there is something of a worldwide backlash against wind farms with regard to their visual impact. “But because wind turbines perform best in the most exposed positions, they will always be visible. There is a very real need to balance environmental and 80 technical requirements. I think the Ten Mile Lagoon Wind Farm sets the standard for environmentally friendly developments.”

H In fact, the project has become something of a tourist attraction in itself. Esperance shire president Ian Mickel said the wind turbines had been well accepted by locals. We have watched the wind farm develop with great interest, and now we find visitors to Esperance are equally enthusiastic about it; he said. The aim now is to identify other remote locations where wind turbines will be a feasible means of supplementing existing power stations.

Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.

1 Esperance used to rely totally on .........................for energy.

2 About .................................of Esperance's energy needs are met by the wind farm.
3 Both the .............................of a wind turbine affect its energy output.
4 & 5 Wind farms should not be built near barriers to the wind, such as
................. or ..............................
6 Scientists choose the best location for the wind farm at Esperance with the aid of .............................

The Blombos Cave discovery is the earliest-known example of a pigment-or paint-producing workshop. All of the materials were discovered at the same site, and they included an array of raw materials including samples of bone and charcoal, as well as pigment-producing equipment such as grindstones and hammerstones. Judging by the equipment, which shows signs of wear, Henshilwood and his team were able to deduce the process used to produce the ochre mixture.

First, the pieces of ochre were rubbed on quartzite slabs and crushed to

produce a red powder. This was combined with ground-up mammal bone, the traces of which show signs that it was heated before being ground. The ochre powder and the bone pieces were mixed with charcoal stone chips, quartz grains and a liquid (perhaps water) and was then transferred to abalone shells to be gently stirred before being ready for application.


Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
1 Two ingredients used to make paint found in the cave were ........................ and ........................
2 Two examples of tools used to make the paint that were found in the
caves are ..................... and .............................
3 The scientists used the ......................... on the equipment to help work out how the paint was made.